FROM THE PRESIDENTBy Elaine Eugster,President of Friends of Vineyard Haven Public Library

Last year was a very successful year for the Friends of the Library, including our most successful Road Race in years and full houses for our Sunday programs! We continue to be active in the All Island Friends group, an initiative that was the brain child of our own Myra Stark. The group, which meets twice a year, will be sponsoring a program this Fall, so keep an eye out for the details.

Our 2012 Annual Appeal was again a success and, among other things, we have provided the Library with materials for circulation, including eBooks, Children’s books and Young Adult Books. Did you know that our Library has the largest collection of YA books among all the Libraries on the Island?

We also supplied money for upgrading the equipment and furniture in the Children’s and Young Adult rooms. Among our purchases were child size headphones – they are adorable and a big hit with the young ones. And we will continue to pay for annual subscriptions to the Teen Health Database and to Ancestry.com.

In addition, we will contribute funds towards sending two library staff members to the Annual Meeting of the American Library Association. We also supply passes to the Boston Fine Arts Museum, so if you are headed up there, stop in and pick up a pass!

The Mini Book Sales on the third Saturday of the month from 1 to 3 pm are a great time to come in and browse for books for you, or as gifts. Soft cover are $1.00, hard cover $2.00 and you can fill one of our lovely purple tote bags for just $12.00!

This year our Vineyard author honoree is Ward Just. You probably read about him in the newspaper, as he was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The program will be held on Sunday, July 21 at 2:00 pm in the air conditioned library, so mark your calendar. Another date to note is the annual Art in June exhibit. This juried event will be in the program room June 1 to 14th and the opening reception will be held on Tuesday, June 4 at 5:30 pm.

The Friends meet on the last Monday of each month, except in December, from 1:00 to 2:00 pm – and we NEVER go over! We welcome new members so please come by and check us out.

FROM THE DIRECTORBy Amy Ryan, Director of VHPL

On April 2nd, 2013, your Vineyard Haven library card became the only card you need to check out books and other materials from any of the six libraries on Martha’s Vineyard. All six libraries are now part of the CLAMS network, that also includes most of the libraries on Cape Cod. This is a great step for the island and we’re excited to be able to more easily share with our neighbor libraries.

This year our Library completed a long-range plan to guide the library for the next five years. The plan is the outcome of a year-long process that assessed current library services and facilities, and gathered extensive feedback from the community. Friend of the Library Myra Stark served on our planning committee.

Under the plan, the library will continue to offer a large number of programs to promote lifelong learning and early literacy, and to provide books, films, and other materials in a variety of formats for all ages. In addition, the library will focus on providing information on local, national and world affairs in order to help library patrons become informed citizens and participate in community decision-making. The complete plan is available on the library website at www.vhlibrary.org, and printed copies are available for review at the library.

Our Library was again named one of 262 "star" libraries (out of 7,570 rated) in Library Journal's annual rating of U.S. public libraries. There are nine "Star" libraries in Massachusetts, and eight of these are members of the growing CLAMS network.

Through CLAMS, we now offer a free mobile “app” for smartphones and tablets. The app offers a handheld version of many of the services we offer online through our website, including access to our growing collection of eBooks and downloadable audiobooks.

Significant upgrades were made to library technology. We have several new public computers with up-to-date software, including an iMac . Public computers are now managed with EnvisionWare software, which provides equitable access to the computers and helps us recover printing costs.

Even with the recent focus on technology, printed books continue to be the most popular items at our library. Circulation of books increased again this year, and the shelves are bursting with great books, old and new, for you to enjoy!

LIBRARY BOOK GROUP By Jennifer Rapuano

The book group would like to thank the Friends for supplying refreshments for our monthly meetings. This year we have read a wide variety of books:

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeanette Walls

Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

Now reading: Defending Jacob by William Landay

The Book Group meets at 1:30pm on the 3rd Thursday of the month, and all are welcome!\

ART IN THE LIBRARY

By Rosemary Ribarik

“Art in the Stacks” is an initiative of the Friends of the Vineyard Haven Public Library to provide individual artists an opportunity to show their work and for library patrons to enjoy art at the library throughout the year.
For the month of April, Renee Balter will display her paintings and prints. Please call Rosemary at 508-693-0544 it you or a friend would like to participate in “Art in the Stacks”.

This year we are fortunate to have Francine Kelly curate our “Art in June” show scheduled for June 3rd – 14th at the library. An artists' reception will be held June 4th, from 5 to 8 p.m. This has always been a well-attended event. Join us in welcoming Island artists and friends.
The artist's submission deadline for the June show is May 1. For more information, call 508-696-4210, ext. 11 or visit the website: www.vhlibrary.org/artshow.shtml

DISPLAY CASES

By Barbara Caseau

The Friends had Display Cases built for the Library to provide a showcase for Island non-profits. In January, The Island Boy Scouts filled the cases with uniforms, badges, books and activities.
February through April, resuming in June and running through October, the displays will feature Biodiversity, including Research, Monitoring and Restoration, all organized by Luanne Johnson of MV Biodiversity Works.
February focused on Otter mapping and March on Osprey Migration.
Still to come are displays on Prescribed Fires, Endemic Moths, Belted Kingfishers, Dragonflies, and Atlantic Ghost Crabs.
Our May display, organized by Pamela Street, will feature Family Planning on Martha’s Vineyard.

Thanks to the Friends’ generosity, both the Children’s and Young Adults’ areas will be sporting new spiffy seating embellishments just in time for our summer visitors. We are working hard to revitalize the children’s and young adult areas by weeding out the old and showing off the new. Again, courtesy of the Friends, Amy has replenished the YA classic book section and replaced many missing or damaged popular items. The weekly programs and activities offered for toddlers to teenagers continue to be well attended and well supplied (thanks again, Friends!). With your help, we hope to make our library a preferred destination for children and teens.

As we settle into our new positions, Felicia and Amy are putting together some special programs with funding from the Friends (again!). Amy will be hosting a teen comic seminar in June, and Felicia will be bringing in some special guests for Tuesday story times and Thursday craft times. Our July 6th summer reading kick-off program will feature Parent’s Choice Award Winner Vanessa Trien at the Ag Hall in West Tisbury. This year’s themes are “Dig into Reading” and “Beneath the Surface.” Felicia and Amy look forward to an exciting summer with loads of activities. We hope that all our Friends will have time to participate, and we are grateful for the extra support we get from all of you.

ADULT PROGRAMS

by Betty Burton

In he past year the library presented 167 adult programs with over 2,898 patrons attending. We are very pleased to have the Friends of the Library help support us with many of our events, often presenting receptions following special programs.

This spring we are again holding a Great Decisions Discussing Group, and screening a variety of recent Oscar-winning films. On Tuesday evenings in May we will host game nights for adults, with Scrabble, cribbage, cards and other games available for you to try. As always, check the library website or pick up a calendar in the library for details on upcoming events.

The library was just awarded a grant from the American Library Association, The NEH, and the Tribeca Film Institute for “America’s Music: A Film History of Our Popular Music from Blues to Bluegrass to Broadway.” A series of public programs featuring documentary film screenings and scholar-led discussions on twentieth-century American popular music will be offered at the library beginning later this year. We hope you will join us.

SUNDAY WITH FRIENDSby Laurel Chapman

The Friends held three Sunday with Friends events this winter to capacity audiences in the Library’s Program Room. In November, Louisa Gould of the Vineyard Haven Louisa Gould Gallery showed her photographs from all over the world. In January, the Peter Luce Playreaders presented scenes from two comedies of manners: Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Ernest and Noel Coward’s Private Lives. February’s program featured Elizabeth Villard speaking on Vineyard Haven graveyards.

On Sunday, July 21st at 2pm, the Friends of the Vineyard Haven Public Library will present a free event honoring local author Ward Just, with reception to follow. Mr. Just will read from and discuss his forthcoming novel to be published later this year.

Ward Just's previous novels include Exiles in the Garden, Forgetfulness, the National Book Award finalist Echo House, A Dangerous Friend, winner of the Cooper Prize for fiction from the Society of American Historians, and An Unfinished Season, winner of the Chicago Tribune Heartland Award and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2013.

BECOME A FRIEND

We continue to honor life memberships, but if you are an annual member or have not yet joined the Friends of the Vineyard Haven Public Library this fall, you may send your check for $25 now for an annual membership good until next September. Donations beyond the membership fee are always welcome! Please mail to: Friends of the Vineyard Haven Public Library, RFD 139A, 200 Main Street, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568.